Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in introducing the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 (AHCIA), which would help millions of Americans by financing nearly 1.6 million affordable homes nationwide over 10 years. 

Rep. Mullin is an original cosponsor of this critical legislation that would strengthen and expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the nation’s primary tool to finance the development and preservation of affordable rental housing over the last 40 years.  

“As housing and construction costs continue to rise, more federal support is urgently needed to build homes for low-income families across the nation,” said Rep. Mullin. “One of the toughest challenges for nonprofit housing builders is piecing together a mix of federal, state and local funding sources. Expanding the Housing Credit is desperately needed and will help stabilize families who are struggling to make ends meet.” 

Specifically, this bill would: 

• Increase Housing Credit allocations and resources   

• Provide states with additional flexibilities and streamline program rules 

• Enable the Housing Credit to better serve hard-to-reach communities including rural, Native American, high-poverty, and high-cost communities, as well as extremely low-income and formerly homeless tenants. 

• Make the Housing Credit a more effective tool for preserving existing affordable housing units. 

• Support over 2.4 million jobs, almost $94 billion in additional tax revenue, and over $271 billion in wages and business income. 

Established in 1986, the Housing Credit has financed more than 4 million affordable homes and served over 9.28 million low-income households, including veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families with children.  

The AHCIA of 2025 builds on prior versions of the AHCIA that have earned widespread bipartisan support since first introduced in 2016. Since then, key provisions from the bill have been included in tax legislation, including the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming support. Congress will also be considering tax legislation as part of its budget reconciliation efforts.  

Besides receiving bipartisan support, the AHCIA has been lauded by affordable housing advocates for modernizing the support of rental housing for low-income families. 

“Enacting the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is the single most important thing Congress can do to increase the production of affordable homes in California,” said Matt Schwartz, President & CEO of the California Housing Partnership. “Passing AHCIA will result in the construction of an additional 15,000 affordable homes per year for California families, seniors and disabled struggling to afford high rents, roughly double today’s production. The California Housing Partnership lauds Congressman Mullin’s leadership in co-sponsoring this critical legislation to address California’s affordability crisis.” 

“The Housing Credit is one of the most effective tools we have to solve our nation’s housing crisis,” said Matthew O. Franklin, President and CEO of MidPen Housing, a leading nonprofit that has developed more than 130 affordable communities serving 22,000 families and seniors. “We applaud the bipartisan cosponsors for teaming up on this critical effort, which will leverage private-sector capital to create homes and jobs across the U.S.” 

“Passing this legislation is the single most important thing Congress can do to support affordable housing in California right now,” said J.T. Harechmak, Policy Director of Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California. “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will help California build and preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable homes over the next year – a critically important outcome at a critically important time.” 

“We are thrilled by the overwhelming support for legislation that will increase the development of affordable housing,” said Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) Chief Executive Officer Emily Cadik. “Now more than ever, it is vital for Congress to enact these long overdue measures, which leverage private sector investment to bolster affordable housing resources. We thank the growing number of bipartisan cosponsors for supporting this commonsense solution to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit.” 

“With our nation’s housing crisis reaching record levels, there is a strong imperative for Congress to act. The affordable housing crisis affects every state and all types of communities,” said Dudley Benoit, President of the AHTCC Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Walker & Dunlop. “The Housing Credit has proven to be an effective tool in urban and rural areas alike. Without action, this crisis will continue to spiral, leaving more families unable to find affordable housing in their communities and making it more difficult for those communities to support a workforce.” 

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